Coins of Love
by Vanillaberries
Summary: Where did that girl with her fiery temper matching the colour of her hair go? What happened to the woman who married the love of her life?
1. 1 Princess Of The Tower

Where's that girl who stood up to all the boys in Hogwarts? Where's that girl who chose to marry a man, not of her father's choice? Where's the woman that happily smiled on her wedding day, photogenic in every picture?

Rose Malfoy was the picture of perfection. A gorgeous face and body, a devoted family, a rich, handsome husband, high society status, a highly respected job and a beautiful home. That is what everybody saw.

She didn't see that though. Rose saw the scar that ran down her thigh from dueling in the field, she saw the cracks in her family – Molly's jealousy over Dom and Lysander, Fred's broken heart, Hugo's drinking problem, James' struggle with new fame and celebrity status. She saw the women alongside her in society, whispering things behind each other's back, especially hers. She saw people at work fear her because of her raw talent and ruthlessness in the field. She saw an empty house, the only comforts being her garden and Flipsy, the house elf. And last of all, she saw a husband, arriving home late every day, the scent of delicate perfume lingering in the air.

Yes, how much life had changed in just 10 years.

In leaving Hogwarts, she rose – upwards was the only direction she saw and the only direction she climbed. She climbed it with her best friend, Al, by her side and the 'love of her life', Scorpius. Fame, money, society, status…they came gradually, if not suddenly. Overwhelming was an understatement but she was Rose Weasley; courage was in her blood and challenge raced through her heart. She strived to do her best, be better, be the best, and eventually was rewarded as being one of the most talented Aurors in the force.

She was blind, if not completely senseless, to notice the cracks and holes appearing beside her. The majority of this was thanks to her family. First was Lucy, who eloped with a French man and ran away to France, only contacting her family once a year. Sometimes Rose felt envious of how exotic the idea of running away to a foreign land sounded. Sometimes, she wish she had enough courage to do that too.

Then came Fred, whose girlfriend of nearly 6 years, suddenly decided she loved another man more and became engaged within a week of breaking up with Fred.

Dom and Lysander, one of the few happy ones, were also a cause of others' unhappiness. Though Rose loved Dom and Molly both, she had always known the love Molly shared for her best friend and her cousin's now fiancé. In Rose's head, however, she was confident that the engagement wouldn't last, but then again, Rose wasn't always right in the love department.

James, like her, had rose to new heights with his unsurpassable talent as a Quidditch player bringing him fame, girls, money and magazine covers. But Rose wasn't too worried about James' problems. Atleast he had love in his life to get him through it.

Then came Lily. As the baby of the family, Rose couldn't help but feel protective. And with Lily being painfully gorgeous, there was just a line of guys in turn. The only problem she faced was staying out of trouble. Still, one of the lesser problems on Rose's family list.

Louis was the current cause of concern in the family. Whenever Rose spotted him, it was always with a drink in his hand. Rose didn't know for what reason he would turn to alcohol, but she supposed he didn't know himself. Roxy, his best friend and their cousin, had attempted to get him out of it, but that went nowhere. Rose was glad that despite her own problems, she didn't have a weakness like her cousin did.

So she managed with her broken family. Teddy and Victoire tried to help of course, but they were busy building a family. It seemed as if life had deserted Rose with these problems, when she was least expecting or wanting them. It was also times like these when she missed Al dearly; his bright smile and carefree attitude could simply solve half her problems, but with him working on a long-term international auror case, she had no one to depend on here.

Her train of thought was broken with the slam of the front door and footsteps of Flipsy bursting through the kitchen door.

"Master Scorpius, dinner is all ready for you." Flipsy squeaked, her tell-tale tone giving her excitement away.

"Thank you, Flipsy."

His deep velvety voice rung out through the manor, both making her shiver with dread and her stomach turn in knots. It was ironic that still hearing his voice did so many things to hear. Rose Malfoy wondered what new 'ornament' she would find on her husband today – would it be lipstick on his neck? Or would it be freshly swollen lips this time?

Instinctively she turned towards the kitchen, her eyes fixated upon his soft white-blonde hair, his grey eyes examining the paper has he read, his strong back arched over to eat his food. It was days like these when she saw him, and she wouldn't see the man who lied to her or broke his promise – no – she would she see the man, the boy she fell in love with. The boy she thought she would be in love with forever.

In a moment, his face turned, finally noticing her presence in the kitchen. She startled, but he didn't move an inch. He gazed at her, scrutinizing her (she was sure) and when he was done, he smirked at her and whispered huskily, "Honey…I'm home."

Yes, indeed. Scorpius Malfoy was finally home.


	2. 2 Don't Mix Forgiveness And Begging

The first thing that she noticed about him was that his buttons were slightly askew. She noticed his toned, bare chest under the rumpled, white shirt and remembered the feeling of running her hands over that chest. Then she noticed the slight pinkish tinge on his neck – the mark of a deadly lipstick kiss.

Rose Malfoy narrowed her eyes at her husband, only to find his smirk growing. He was enjoying this! The bastard, the cheating bastard, was actually enjoying this!

"Where were you?" she asked, cringing at the despair in her own voice. She felt needy, vulnerable, dependable – Rose Weasley was never any of those things. No, she had vowed never to become any of those things. And look at her now.

"Does it really matter?" His smirk infuriated her. There was a point in their relationship when she succumbed to that sexy smirk of his, but now it just brought painful images of other women to her mind.

Scorpius took cautious steps towards his wife, reaching out to grab her arm and pull her close towards him. She seemed startled at first, and reached out to him in support, then realized who she was clinging on to and started to struggle.

"Let go of me, _Malfoy_," she spat out, her blue eyes turning chilly. She forgot that this was her husband holding her. She forgot that she was a Malfoy too. No, he was the enemy right now.

"Back to last names are we? Well that won't really work now, will it _Mrs Malfoy_?" His smirk grew wider, amusement dancing in his eyes as he teased her. If it was one thing Scorpius Malfoy knew how to do, it was to rile his wife up.

But instead of firing up, Rose softened, her blue icy eyes slowly thawing. Scorpius frowned – this wasn't a reaction he usually got from her.

She slowly untangled herself from him and stepped back, her eyes now facing downwards as she, Scorpius noticed with shock, fidgeted with her hands. Then she looked up, locked eyes with him and said softly, yet determinedly, "I want a divorce, Scorpius."

He drew his breath in. It was as if time slowly came to a still. A part of him wanted to laugh; take her shoulders and shake them till she started laughing too. Maybe then he could reassure himself that it was all a joke.

He didn't move. He didn't speak. He just stared at her, observing her. She was gazing at him anxiously, waiting for a reaction. He supposed she thought that all she would get from him would be smirk and a nod, let alone any genuine show of human emotions.

He surprised himself with the slight watering in his eyes. Why was he crying? He had never cried! Composing himself, he bit back his reply. "You finally found someone else to shag, Rosie?"

The slap that followed was shockingly swift. He had expected the usual tantrum after the show of violence, but she simply walked out of the room. Scorpius Malfoy gazed at the spot where his wife had just left from.

A part of him wondered when his wife had lost her fiery spirit, and another part wondered how he had not noticed the change. She was always good at keeping things inside, but when it came to him, she normally wore her heart on her sleeve.

It only took him a moment before he was charging out of the room and up the stairs towards their bedroom. He stood in the doorway, hands on both sides, staring at her whilst she waved her clothes into her bags. His wife was a mess. Her heels were kicked off, her shirt rumpled as she ripped off photos from the wall.

There was a silence before he tentatively broke it. "Where will you be going?"

She didn't turn around to face him nor did she stop what she was doing.

"I'm a top goddamn auror, I think I'll manage to find a place."

Her words stung, but only slightly. It wasn't a secret that Rose Weasley was one of the most wanted for the high profile cases.

"Will you be staying with family, or…?"

She sighed and paused in her actions, her back still facing him.

"I think I might go stay with Al for a bit, you know, get away from this whole scene."

Of course she'd stay with him. Anything to get away from her miserable life and cheating husband – even if it meant moving to another country.

"Do you know when you'll be back?"

She turned round to face him, her eyes now boring into is. They were a whirlpool of emotions, he was still surprised to find. He could sense the anger, the desperation, the misery, and he wondered what all she hadn't been telling him these past few months.

"Honestly Scorpius, I don't know. But don't worry, nothing will get in the way of your lifestyle. So please, carry on!"

He stepped forward inside their room and immediately regretted it. She glared at him, and he knew firsthand what it was like to be the recipient of that glare. It had been sent his way plenty of times during their Hogwarts years.

Rose was daring him, he realized. She wanted to see if he really would come any closer, defy the distant space or wall they had built up over the past few months. She wanted to know if beneath the smirks, and the cutting remarks, and the late nights, he still had a semblance of a heart.

"Rose," and he did, he did go closer, "You're not going to France.

Blue eyes blazed fire, spitting at him, spitting at his words. There was a thump as she dropped the frame in her hand and rounded on him, ready to attack.

"Don't tell me what to do, Scorpius. You lost that right a long time ago, when you deserted this marriage. I will go to Al and Merlin help me if you try to stop me."

Scorpius knew that once she was gone to France, he couldn't follow her. She would be with Al, and he didn't think he could face his best friend – well his former best friend – again. When the young auror prodigy was shipped off to France for a big case, he hadn't even said goodbye to his best friend. He was disgusted with him, couldn't even look him in the eye. Al knew the whole time. He was smarter than them both and had figured it out before Rose could.

He had stopped by the office and had looked at him in the eye. He took one look at the photos on Scorpius' desk – the ones of them, and the ones of Rose and him at Hogwarts and in training, and smiled painfully. He had warned them after all that he couldn't choose between two best friends - one being a cousin and another being almost a brother.

But Al had chosen Rose. He didn't care for Scorpius' excuses or apologies or goodbyes, even. So the day he left for France, Scorpius pushed himself harder at work, stayed later at night and didn't speak to Rose until the next day.

So now, when Rose said she was going to join Al, it was only a painful remainder to Scorpius of losing the only family he had.

She had finally finished packing and was sitting on the bed, her hands in her laps. It was the first time he saw her distracted, saw her resolve weaken. She had stopped crying, he noticed thankfully – he couldn't stand it when she cried.

He tried, he tried once more, reaching for her, his selfish heart begging for love that he didn't even deserve.

"Rose please," his voice never wavered, but surely even she could sense the desperation? "Don't leave."

"Stop. Just stop! Stop lying to yourself, please. I've admitted it, so why can't you? This marriage is miserable. It's making me miserable. It made you miserable a long time ago. So yes, now I am leaving Scorpius. I'm running for the hills!" she waved her hands about, her eyes glistening over with tears. "I don't make you happy anymore. Other people can do that for you. So frankly, I'd rather not stay in a place where I'm not needed."

He couldn't help it but it just came out. "So you think that divorcing me is the solution? You think that choosing the coward's way out is right?"

And for the second time that night, Scorpius felt his cheek burn with fire.

"Just admit it! Just admit that your double life, the one that only satisfies you, has finally caught up with you!" she cried out. "Trust me, it's character building."

Grabbing her bags, she headed towards the doorway, before stopping.

"I'm not just your bag of forgiveness, Malfoy. You should have learnt that a long time ago."


End file.
